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August 2007A Legacy of Legitimizing TorturePosted: Thursday, August 30, 2007 ¤ Al-Sadr suspends militia activity in Iraq ¤ Iraq: Divide et Impera A US-financed program to build a Sunni paramilitary Guardian organization in Iraq, and US proposals for a soft partition of the country, are the latest steps in a divide and rule strategy the US is pursuing to keep Iraqis fighting among themselves so they won't fight the occupation. Sectarian strife also provides the US with the pretext it needs to establish a long-term military presence in the country. ¤ Europeans back Hillary Clinton for US president: poll ¤ Bhutto close to deal with Musharraf ¤ Echoes of 9/11 ¤ Will Bush Take Everything Down With Him? ¤ Confronting Katrina ¤ The Costs of the Afghanistan War Telling us how many dollars have been spent on the war in Afghanistan is fundamental to the Department of Defense's (DOD) effort to garner public and congressional support for prosecution of the war. It should also be a simple question. It is not. The Department of Defense (DOD) testified to Congress on July 31, 2007 that the war in Afghanistan had cost $78.1 billion. The seeming precision of the decimal point notwithstanding, the number is laughably inaccurate. ¤ Who Owns the Media and How the People Can Take It Back ¤ After Oil Supplies Dry Up, What's Plan B? When Hurricane Katrina struck two years ago, Americans learned just how ill-equipped the government is to respond effectively to natural disasters. But if you think the government's response to Katrina was inept, brace yourself for peak oil. Global oil production will hit its peak in the next few years, at which point oil prices will skyrocket and voracious consumers like the United States, China and Europe will quickly drain every last barrel they can afford to buy. Our per-capita oil consumption is double that of most European nations and more than triple Mexico's, and shows no sign of slowing. As supplies dwindle, an economic disaster on a par with Katrina will start to unfold. ¤ A Legacy of Legitimizing Torture ¤ History Will Tell Lies, Sir, As Usual ¤ The President's Escalating War Rhetoric On Iran Leave aside all of the dubious premises - the fact that the U.S. is supposed to consider Iran "the world's leading state sponsor of terrorism" because of its support for groups that are hostile to Israel; that Iran is arming its longstanding Taliban enemies; that Iran is some sort of threat to Iraq's future even though it is an ally of Iraq's government; and that Iran's detention of American-Iranians inside its own country is anything other than retaliation for our own equally pointless detention of Iranians inside of Iraq, to say nothing of a whole slew of other provacative acts we have recently undertaken towards Iran. Leave all of that aside for the moment. Viewed through the prism of presidential jargon, Bush's vow - "We will confront this danger before it is too late" - is synonymous with a pledge to attack Iran unless our array of demands are met. He is unmistakably proclaiming that unless Iran gives up its nuclear program and fundamentally changes its posture in the Middle East, "we will confront this danger." What possible scenario could avert this outcome? ¤ Abu Ghraib: One of Al's Claims to Fame ¤ Has America Become...Irrelevant? ¤ American nightmare: Gonzales "wrong and illegal and unethical" China has banned Buddhist monks from reincarnating Posted: Wednesday, August 29, 2007 Aug. 20-27, 2007 issue - In one of history's more absurd acts of totalitarianism, China has banned Buddhist monks in Tibet from reincarnating without government permission. According to a statement issued by the State Administration for Religious Affairs, the law, which goes into effect next month and strictly stipulates the procedures by which one is to reincarnate, is "an important move to institutionalize management of reincarnation." But beyond the irony lies China's true motive: to cut off the influence of the Dalai Lama, Tibet's exiled spiritual and political leader, and to quell the region's Buddhist religious establishment more than 50 years after China invaded the small Himalayan country. By barring any Buddhist monk living outside China from seeking reincarnation, the law effectively gives Chinese authorities the power to choose the next Dalai Lama, whose soul, by tradition, is reborn as a new human to continue the work of relieving suffering. Full Article : msnbc.msn.com Al-Sadr suspends militia activity in Iraq Posted: Wednesday, August 29, 2007 BAGHDAD - Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr has ordered a six-month suspension of activities by his Mahdi Army militia in order to reorganize the force, and it will no longer attack U.S. and coalition troops, aides said Wednesday. The aide, Sheik Hazim al-Araji, said on Iraqi state television that the goal was to "rehabilitate" the organization, which has reportedly broken into factions, some of which the U.S. maintains are trained and supplied by Iran. Full Article : news.yahoo.com US Army Adds Farce to Abu Ghraib Shame Posted: Tuesday, August 28, 2007 ¤ Zimbabwe: Let's cut ties with Australia There comes a time in everyone's life when one says enough is enough and that time has come for Zimbabwe to say to the Australian government let's part ways and fight in the battlefield. There is no need to continue keeping up appearances when diplomatic ties between the two countries have irrevocably broken down. For the past seven years, Zimbabwe has continued to suffer extreme forms of abuse from an Australian government determined to show imperial Britain that it is a good lackey. ¤ The Language of Force Soon after coming to power, Ariel Sharon started to commission public opinion polls. He kept the results to himself. This week, a reporter of Israel's TV Channel 10 succeeded in obtaining some of them. Among other things, Sharon wanted to know what the public thought about peace. He did not dream of starting on this road himself, but he felt it important to be informed about the trends. ¤ Katrina, Two Years Later ¤ Smoking Guns, Mushroom Clouds and Fog ¤ Displacements in Iraq soar as humanitarian situation worsens, UN agency reports ¤ The tip of the iceberg ¤ Even I question the 'truth' about 9/11 ¤ Afghan opium crop 'at record high' ¤ US Army Adds Farce to Abu Ghraib Shame The Army officer in charge of the interrogation/torture operation at Abu Ghraib in late 2003 is being court-martialed. My first thought was: Finally an officer is being held accountable. In view of the repeated rebuff to my own attempts to stop the torture and identify those responsible, however, you will perhaps excuse my skepticism that justice will be done. ¤ How Did We Get Into This Neoliberal Mess? For the first time, the United Kingdom's consumer debt now exceeds our gross national product: a new report shows that we owe £1.35 trillion(1). Inspectors in the United States have discovered that 77,000 road bridges are in the same perilous state as the one which collapsed into the Mississippi(2). Two years after Hurricane Katrina struck, 120,000 people from New Orleans are still living in trailer homes and temporary lodgings(3). As runaway climate change approaches, governments refuse to take the necessary action. Booming inequality threatens to create the most divided societies the world has seen since before the first world war. Now a financial crisis caused by unregulated lending could turf hundreds of thousands out of their homes and trigger a cascade of economic troubles ¤ Bush threatens to confront Iran over alleged support for Iraqi insurgents ¤ Middle East turmoil could cause world war: U.S. envoy ¤ The Great Iraq Swindle ¤ Options on the table ¤ About-face on Iran coming? ¤ Bush Reacts To Gonzales Resignation ¤ CheneyBush's "Mercenary" Legions Zimbabwe: Let's cut ties with Australia Posted: Tuesday, August 28, 2007 The Herald There comes a time in everyone's life when one says enough is enough and that time has come for Zimbabwe to say to the Australian government let's part ways and fight in the battlefield. There is no need to continue keeping up appearances when diplomatic ties between the two countries have irrevocably broken down. For the past seven years, Zimbabwe has continued to suffer extreme forms of abuse from an Australian government determined to show imperial Britain that it is a good lackey. Zimbabwe has no quarrel with Australia, but the latter has seen it fit to assume Britain's colonial fight with Zimbabwe as its own. Australia – which is home to racist Rhodesians who fled the country at independence in fear of black majority rule and at the advent of land reforms in 2000 – has done everything it can to effect illegal regime change in Zimbabwe in favour of imperial Britain's puppet opposition MDC. True to form, the puppet is in Australia being congratulated for being a good boy and confirming Africa's fears that he is nothing but a Trojan horse doing its master's bidding. Diplomatic relations with Australia cannot be salvaged anymore under the present Australian regime of John Howard. The only remaining option for Zimbabwe is to shut down our mission in Sydney and ordering the Australian Embassy in Harare to pack up and go. The Australian government has not made it a secret that it is working to subvert the same Government it purports to have relations with while we have continued to pretend that bilateral relations still exist between the two countries. The question is, what do we stand to benefit by maintaining diplomatic relations with such a racist country that imposes barbaric sanctions on innocent children and sports people. Like good Africans, we are expected to ignore the incessant hostility and financial sanctions against our country and smile at the token aid thrown at us. For whose benefit are we exchanging missions? Aren't we simply abetting the illegal regime change agenda by providing Rhodesian, and rightwing elements in Australia with consular services that facilitate their subversive activities? And what are we doing sending our children to enemy territory, where their fees contribute to enemy GDP? Isn't it better to send them to friendly countries in line with our Look East policy, where their fees can go a long way in enhancing synergies with partners that respect not only our sovereignty, but also our right to chart our own destiny. It is high time we reconsidered our relations with nations that don't respect our sovereignty. We have nothing to lose by closing our mission in Sydney; and kicking out the reactionaries they post here at three-year intervals. In fact, it is only the illegal regime change agenda that stands to suffer. US preparing 'massive' military attack against Iran Posted: Tuesday, August 28, 2007 The United States has the capacity for and may be prepared to launch without warning a massive assault on Iranian uranium enrichment facilities, as well as government buildings and infrastructure, using long-range bombers and missiles, according to a new analysis. The paper, "Considering a war with Iran: A discussion paper on WMD in the Middle East" – written by well-respected British scholar and arms expert Dr. Dan Plesch, Director of the Centre for International Studies and Diplomacy of the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) at the University of London, and Martin Butcher, a former Director of the British American Security Information Council (BASIC) and former adviser to the Foreign Affairs Committee of the European Parliament – was exclusively provided to RAW STORY late Friday under embargo. Full Article : rawstory.com Mandela's message to black Britain Posted: Tuesday, August 28, 2007 Nelson Mandela, the hero of the global battle for racial equality, last night made an impassioned appeal for leading black Britons to take a lead in countering violence and low achievement in the inner cities. At the start of a visit to Britain to celebrate his own life, the former South African president said it was vital that the achievements of the UK's successful black people were harnessed to inspire those "who scale the mountains with you". The challenge from the 89-year-old Nobel Peace Prize winner, who will today unveil a 9ft statue of himself in Parliament Square, comes at a time of intense debate about the need for a new generation of role models for black teenagers. Full Article : independent.co.uk US judge approves Noriega's extradition to France Posted: Tuesday, August 28, 2007 Panama's former dictator, Manuel Noriega, can be extradited to France for a money laundering trial after he completes a lengthy jail sentence in Miami next month, a US judge ruled yesterday. Judge William Turnoff said Noriega's status as a prisoner of war under the Geneva conventions did not mean he should immediately be sent back to the central America country he ruled in the 1980s. An extradition order would be issued today, said the judge. Full Article : guardian.co.uk US Most Armed Country with 90 Guns per 100 People Posted: Tuesday, August 28, 2007 GENEVA - The United States has 90 guns for every 100 citizens, making it the most heavily armed society in the world, a report released on Tuesday said. U.S. citizens own 270 million of the world’s 875 million known firearms, according to the Small Arms Survey 2007 by the Geneva-based Graduate Institute of International Studies. About 4.5 million of the 8 million new guns manufactured worldwide each year are purchased in the United States, it said. Full Article : commondreams.org US Army Adds Farce to Abu Ghraib Shame Posted: Tuesday, August 28, 2007 by Sam Provance The Army officer in charge of the interrogation/torture operation at Abu Ghraib in late 2003 is being court-martialed. My first thought was: Finally an officer is being held accountable. In view of the repeated rebuff to my own attempts to stop the torture and identify those responsible, however, you will perhaps excuse my skepticism that justice will be done. An Army intelligence analyst, my job at Abu Ghraib was systems administrator (”the computer guy”). But I had the bad luck to be on the night shift. And so I saw the detainees dragged in for interrogation, heard the screams, and saw many of them dragged out. Full Article : commondreams.org France's Sarkozy raises prospect of Iran airstrikes Posted: Monday, August 27, 2007 In his first major foreign policy speech, French president says diplomatic push by world's powers to rein in Tehran's nuclear program is only alternative to 'Iranian bomb or bombing of Iran' Full Article : ynetnews.com COMMENT: "...diplomatic push by world's powers..." "World's powers" is a racist euphemism for European and U.S. governments. They certainly do not consider the governments of China, India, Africa, South America and the Caribbean to be part of "World's powers". --Ayinde Eyes Closed to History Posted: Saturday, August 25, 2007 ¤ An intensifying US campaign against Iran ¤ More War on the Horizon The Bush regime says it is going to designate part of Iran's military -- the Revolutionary Guards -- a terrorist organization, whose bases and facilities Bush intends to bomb along with Iran's nuclear energy sites. Three US aircraft carrier strike forces are deployed off Iran. B-2 Stealth bombers are being fitted to carry 30,000 pound "bunker-buster" bombs to use against hardened sites. Politicized US generals assert that Iran is providing arms and aid to the Iraqi resistance to the US occupation. The media are feeding the US population the same propaganda about nonexistent Iranian weapons of mass destruction that they fed us about nonexistent Iraqi weapons of mass destruction. A former CIA Middle East field officer, Robert Baer, has written in Time magazine that the Bush regime has decided to attack the Revolutionary Guards within the next 6 months. Remember the "cakewalk war"? Well, this time the neocons think that an attack on the Revolutionary Guards will free Iran from Islamic influence and cause Iranians to back the US against their own government. ¤ Troops argue Iraq is 'unwinnable' ¤ A Cruel and Unusual Excuse ¤ Eyes Closed to History The facts, however, are at variance with Mr. Bush's statements concerning the suffering of Southeast Asians. Millions of Cambodians died on the "killing fields" because secret American carpet bombing destroyed their nation and created an environment in which armed thugs led by Pol Pot took over unchallenged. In 1969, President Nixon ordered every available American plane into Cambodia to "crack the hell out of them." He wanted them to "hit everything." Secretary of State, Henry Kissinger, subsequently transmitted the order to his top aide, Alexander Haig, this way: "Anything that flies on anything that moves." When Cambodia collapsed under the weight of the American Air Force, Prince Sihanouk fled to China, and the bad guys took over. Cambodian life under the bloody rule of the Khmer Rouge is well documented. ¤ 3rd youth arrested in UK boy's killing ¤ 'US friendly fire' kills British soldiers in Afghanistan ¤ The Carnage in Iraq - Past, Present, and Future ¤ TOGA, TOGA, TOGA! The Tyranny of George Almighty ¤ Hurricane George: How the White House Drowned New Orleans It's been two years. And America's media is about to have another tear-gasm over New Orleans. Maybe Anderson Cooper will weep again. The big networks will float into the moldering corpse of the city and give you uplifting stories about rebuilding and hope. Now, let's cut through the cry-baby crap. Here's what happened two years ago - and what's happening now. ¤ Bush's Bogus Vietnam History Kills It is often said that those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it. But a much worse fate may await countries whose leaders distort and falsify history. Such countries are doomed to experience even bloodier miscalculations. That was the case with Germany after World War I when Adolf Hitler's Nazis built a political movement based in part on the myth that weak politicians in Berlin had stabbed brave German troops in the back when they were on the verge of victory. ¤ Following Churchill's Folly In Iraq "When Iraq becomes strong enough in our opinion to stand alone, we shall be in a position to state that our task has been fulfilled, and that Iraq is an independent sovereign state. But this cannot be said while we are forced year after year to spend very large sums of money on helping the Iraqi government to defend itself and maintain order." Sound familiar? Perhaps like something you've heard from a stay-the-course advocate, circa 2004-7? Nope, it's Winston Churchill, writing in 1922 as head of Britain's Colonial Office. At the time, Prince Feisal - whom Churchill had appointed king of the nascent nation of Iraq, whose borders Churchill had drawn up the previous year - was balking at the protectorate agreement the British wanted. To rule a land and people with whom he was largely unfamiliar, Feisal, a native of the Arabian Peninsula and not the land between the Tigris and Euphrates, and who had spent much of his life in Turkish Constantinople, needed legitimacy - and as much independence from the British as he could get. Which is much the same problem that the American-supported government and army of Iraq are having today. ¤ History Is The Last Refuge of Scoundrels ¤ Forest fires kill 37 in southern Greece ¤ Where Did the Katrina Money Go? ¤ The Unending Humanitarian Nightmare ¤ George Bush Meets Graham Greene ¤ Iraq And Vietnam Comparison / Refuting Bush ¤ Liberals, Bush Unite in Ethnic Cleansing of Iraq Bush Rewrites History of Vietnam War Posted: Thursday, August 23, 2007 ¤ American Citizen Tortured, Convicted of Thought Crime ¤ Vietnam By Dummies (Prof. G.W. Bush Lecturing) President Bush finally got something right by comparing the US war in Iraq with the disastrous US war in Vietnam. After five years of denying there were any similarities at all, Bush lectured us on the lessons he says we should have learned from that war and apply them to Iraq. So far so good. Trouble is the lesson Bush suggested we should learn from our failure in Vietnam four decades ago goes something like this: We cut and ran in Vietnam. We let our allies down. We allowed a rag tag group of insurgents to win against the great American military. And that's why we're in the mess we're in today. Our enemies today, another group of rag tag insurgents called al-Qaeda - have been emboldened by our retreat from Vietnam. ¤ Why is George Bush suddenly making parallels between Iraq and Vietnam? ¤ Distorting the Truth ¤ The Forgotten Vietnam - Iraq Parallel ¤ Bush Rewrites History of Vietnam War ¤ Toll in Iraq Bombings Is Raised to More Than 500 ¤ How can this bloody failure be regarded as a good war? ¤ America and Venezuela: Constitutional Worlds Apart Although imperfect, no country anywhere is closer to a model democracy than Venezuela under President Hugo Rafael Chavez Frias. In contrast, none is a more shameless failure than America, but it was true long before the age of George W. Bush. The difference under his regime is that the mask is off revealing a repressive state masquerading as a democratic republic. This article compares the constitutional laws of each country and how they're implemented. The result shows world's apart differences between these two nominally democratic states - one that's real, impressive and improving and the other that's mostly pretense and under George Bush lawless, corrupted, in tatters, and morally depraved. ¤ The Iraqis don't deserve us. So we betray them.. Karl Rove, interchangeably known as "Boy Genius" or "Turd Blossom," has left the White House. The press conference announcing his decision to resign has been given front-page treatment by most major media outlets, but the fact of the matter is the buzz surrounding Rove's departure is much ado about nothing, especially in terms of coming to grips with the remaining 16 months of the worst presidency in the history of the United States. ¤ The Path Towards War With Iran ¤ The Ongoing Tragedy of Afghanistan ¤ Bush's House of Snakes ¤ Denmark completely out of Iraq! ¤ Iraq: The vanishing coalition President George Bush invoked the spectre of Vietnam for the first time yesterday as 15 more American soldiers died and increasing evidence emerged that the coalition of the willing that invaded Iraq four years ago has begun to fracture irreparably. As the US death toll moved to 3,722, Iraq's Prime Minister engaged in an angry war of words with his critics in Washington. Meanwhile, a senior US general issued a dark warning that American troops may have to be sent to the south of the country to fill the vacuum left by a projected British withdrawal. ¤ Mbeki defends his stance on Zimbabwe ¤ Eyes Wide Shut: The International Media Looks at Venezuela ¤ The Washington Post's Bias Against Democracy in Latin America Eyes Wide Shut: The International Media Looks at Venezuela Posted: Thursday, August 23, 2007 Most consumers of the international media will be surprised to find that the controversy over Venezuela's oldest TV station, RCTV, is still raging. We were repeatedly informed that President Hugo Chavez "shut down" the station on May 27th. But in fact the station was never "shut down" - since there is no censorship in Venezuela. Rather, the Venezuelan government decided not to renew the broadcast license that granted RCTV a monopoly over a section of the publicly-owned frequencies. This is a big distinction, although the U.S. and international press blurred it considerably. Jose Miguel Insulza, the head of the Organization of American States, noted last month that the "Venezuelan government is empowered to do what it did (non-renewal of the license)" and cited Brazilian President Lula Da Silva's statement that not renewing RCTV's broadcast license was as democratic an act as granting it. Insulza added that "democracy is very much in force in Venezuela." Full Article : venezuelanalysis.com The Washington Post's Bias Against Democracy in Latin America Posted: Thursday, August 23, 2007 In the 1980s the Washington Post honed an editorial page style to attack the Sandinista revolution in Nicaragua that involved complex and convoluted editorials weaving half truths, total lies, innuendo, and unsupported speculation. These editorials were impossible to respond to with letters to the editor limited to 200 words. The "big lie" strategy is effective because to respond with the truth takes even more words than the original lie. The Washington Post is now using the "big lie" strategy against the Bolivarian process in Venezuela and its democratically elected president Hugo Chavez. An editorial on August 17, 2007 is a textbook example of this strategy. It is entitled "Cash-and-Carry Rule" with a sub heading "Venezuela's Hugo Chavez cements his autocracy with petrodollars and another push for 'reform.'" Full Article : zmag.org Beyond the Rhetoric of Withdrawal Posted: Wednesday, August 22, 2007 ¤ 'The War on Democracy' 'The War on Democracy' is John Pilger's first major film for the cinema - in a career that has produced more than 55 television documentaries. Set in Latin America and the US, it explores the historic and current relationship of Washington with countries such as Venezuela, Bolivia and Chile. "The film tells a universal story," says Pilger, "analysing and revealing, through vivid testimony, the story of great power behind its venerable myths. It allows us to understand the true nature of the so-called war on terror". ¤ Following Us Home... ¤ African countries slam UN over Somalia war ¤ Somalia's Crisis ¤ US criticism of IAEA-Iran deal unhelpful, diplomats say ¤ Most US adults in the dark about world politics ¤ IAEA welcomes UN-IRAN nuclear deal ¤ The Warfare State is Part of Us ¤ 14 U.S. troops die in Iraq copter crash ¤ Beyond the Rhetoric of Withdrawal: Our Unknown Air War Over Iraq ¤ Crisis in the Green Zone ¤ Bush gambles with Vietnam reference over Iraq ¤ YouTube videos to have 'overlay' ads Most US adults in the dark about world politics Posted: Wednesday, August 22, 2007 Two-thirds of US adults admit to being in the dark about political issues outside the United States, and only a third are well-versed in US politics, the results of a poll published Tuesday showed. Candidates in the US presidential primaries "may have their work cut out for them as they work to get people interested in the election," wrote the Harris Poll group, which surveyed 2,225 adults between July 6 and 13 for the poll. A separate survey gave New York Senator Hillary Clinton a healthy lead over her main rival Barack Obama for the Democratic primary race. Full Article : breitbart.com African countries slam UN over Somalia war Posted: Wednesday, August 22, 2007 African countries within the UN security council have broken ranks and criticised the organisation's powerful organ for no action taken regarding the ravaging war in Somalia. This came after the council adopted a resolution that renews its authorisation of the African Union (AU) Mission in Somalia known as Amisom. The resolution however falls short of making any intervention in the crisis troubling that country. In February this year, the security council gave the AU a green light to establish a peacekeeping mission in Somalia for a period of six months, to quell the war crippling that country and create conducive climate for a negotiated settlement between the rival groups. The council further committed itself to taking over the Somalia mission at the end of the AU deployment. Six months have now elapsed - with the AU having made little impact on the escalating crises. However, the security council is not about to deploy any troops in that country. Instead, it adopted a resolution that extends its authorisation of the rather struggling African Union force there for another six months. South Africa's Ambassador to the Security Council says they are disappointed. Full Article : sabcnews.com France shifts its stance on the conflict in Iraq Posted: Wednesday, August 22, 2007 PARIS: After years of shunning involvement in a war it said was wrong, France now believes it may hold the key to peace in Iraq, proposing itself as an "honest broker" between the Sunni, Shiite and Kurdish factions. The shift was one of the most concrete consequences yet of the thaw in French-American relations following the election in May of President Nicolas Sarkozy, whose administration no longer feels bound by the adamant refusal to take a role in Iraq that characterized the reign of his predecessor, Jacques Chirac. Full Article : iht.com Russia steps up military expansion Posted: Wednesday, August 22, 2007 Vladimir Putin announced ambitious plans to revive Russia's military power and restore its role as the world's leading producer of military aircraft yesterday. Speaking at the opening of the largest airshow in Russia's post-Soviet history, the president said he was determined to make aircraft manufacture a national priority after decades of lagging behind the west. Full Article : guardian.co.uk Blaming All Americans for Bush's Debacle in Iraq? Posted: Tuesday, August 21, 2007 ¤ Mexico's Broken Ballot Boxes In its most revealing set of elections since the July 2006 fraud-marred presidential balloting, this not-so-distant neighbor nation proved conclusively that its electoral system is irreparably broken. The August 5th vote-taking in Baja California Norte, the nation's wealthiest state, to select a cohort for Upper California's action figure governor featured an eccentric candidate given to wearing vests fashioned from the penises of donkeys and a shaved-headed bureaucrat from a party that has controlled the electoral machinery for 18 years, in one of the filthiest electoral face-offs yet in a country where bad elections are a fine art. ¤ Iraq: the Gift That Keeps on Bleeding Shortly after the November 2006 election the Democracy Alliance, an exclusive group of about 100 Democratic Party millionaire activists, met in Miami, Florida. Members and their guests heard their keynote speaker and liberal legend Mario Cuomo, former New York governor, analyze the Democratic Party in the wake of its stunning electoral victories that had given Democrats control of the US Congress. Cuomo criticized the Democratic Party for lacking vision, big ideas and a winning political argument. His recipe for future Democratic victories was simple: "You seize the biggest idea you can, the biggest idea you can understand. And this is what moves elections." ¤ How Super Was Our Power Anyway? Pick up the paper any day and you'll find tiny straws in the wind (or headlines inside the fold) reflecting the seeping away of American power. The President of the planet's "sole superpower" and his top diplomats and commanders have been denouncing Iran for months as the evil hand behind American disaster in Iraq as well as Afghanistan. So imagine, when President Hamid Karzai of Afghanistan arrived in Washington a couple of weeks back and promptly described Iran as "a helper and a solution" for his country, even as President Bush insisted in his presence: "I would be very cautious about whether or not the Iranian influence in Afghanistan is a positive force." At almost the same moment, Iraq's embattled Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki paid an official visit to Iran, undoubtedly looking for support in case the U.S. turned on his government. Maliki "held hands" with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, met with Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khameini, and called for cooperation. In response, all President Bush could do was issue a vague threat: "I will have to have a heart to heart with my friend, the prime minister, because I don't believe [the Iranians] are constructive.... My message to him is, when we catch you playing a non-constructive role, there will be a price to pay." (Later, a National Security Council spokesman had to offer a correction, insisting the threat was aimed only at Iran, not Maliki.) Then, to add insult to injury, just a week after Bush and Karzai met in Washington, Ahmadinejad headed for Kabul with a high-ranking Iranian delegation to pay his respects to the Afghan president "in open defiance of Washington's wishes." Think slap in the puss. ¤ A Dangerous Acquiescence That August day four years ago in Baghdad, I was standing in the rubble of Canal Hotel, the UN headquarters that had been devastated by a huge terrorist bomb. In a break from my non-stop media briefings - I was spokesman for the UN's Baghdad mission - I was talking to Ronnie Stokes, a senior American colleague. Then, abruptly, I turned around. In front of me lay 12 neatly-draped white sheets. I found myself becoming breathless, and in the panic did not know what to feel, think or say. I saw the tips of a pair of feet sticking out from under a sheet. I remember thinking how pale and white they were. ¤ Padilla Jury Opens Pandora's Box José Padilla's conviction on terrorism charges on August 16 was a victory, not for justice, but for the US Justice (sic) Department's theory that a US citizen can be convicted, not because he committed a terrorist act but for allegedly harboring aspirations to commit such an act. By agreeing with the Justice (sic) Department's theory, the incompetent Padilla Jury delivered a deadly blow to the rule of law and opened Pandora's box. ¤ The Power Goes On ¤ Bush lashes out at Iraq war critics ¤ Partition Iraq? Over Their Dead Bodies There is one thing you must never do if you want to be considered a Serious Foreign Policy Thinker in Washington: Don't stop to consider the lessons of history before proposing massive redesigns to another part of the world. Michael O'Hanlon and other Iraq war backers were wildly incorrect in their last set of predictions, but that hasn't stopped them from promoting still more grand schemes. Now O'Hanlon wants to partition Iraq. ¤ NYPD's Homegrown Hysteria ¤ Rising powers have the US in their sights ¤ Russia steps up military expansion ¤ Asking the Wrong Questions on Iran Imagine, for a moment, that U.S. troops invading Iraq had, as they neared Baghdad, been fired on by an artillery unit using shells filled VX nerve gas — an attack that would have lasted minutes before a U.S. aircrew had taken out the battery, and may have brought a horrible death to a handful of American soldiers. Imagine, further, that the conquering troops had later discovered two warehouses full of VX and mustard gas shells. And later, that inspectors in a science lab had discovered a refrigerator full of Botulinum toxin or even anthrax. ¤ City in a Time Warp ¤ Why Iraqis oppose U.S.-backed oil law ¤ African countries slam UN over Somalia war ¤ The Empire And The Independent Island The history of Cuba during the last 140 years is one of struggle to preserve national identity and independence, and the history of the evolution of the American empire, its constant craving to appropriate Cuba and of the horrendous methods that it uses today to hold on to world domination. Prominent Cuban historians have dealt in depth with these subjects in different periods and in various excellent books which deserve to be readily available to our compatriots. These reflections are addressed especially to the new generations with the aim of helping them learn about very important and decisive events in the destiny of our homeland. ¤ Starving Gaza ¤ Contractors in Iraq Have Become U.S. Crutch ¤ Family of coal miners vent frustration ¤ An Independent hoax ¤ Blaming All Americans for Bush's Debacle in Iraq? Take a look at the September/October 2007 issue of Foreign Affairs and you'll find a fascinating article by James Dobbins: "Who Lost Iraq? Lessons From the Debacle." An Assistant Secretary of State under Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush, Dobbins candidly admits that Bush's invasion of Iraq qualifies as a "national catastrophe," and notes that the changes made thus far, including the so-called "surge," have not "reversed a worsening situation." But his main objective is to assure that the "current debate over the United States' failure in Iraq…yield[s] constructive results" for future administrations. ¤ Suicide Bombings - A Favourite US Counter-Insurgency Tactic Death by Numbers Posted: Monday, August 20, 2007 ¤ Six Utah miners 'may not be found' ¤ What Will Clueless and Hopeless Do Next? ¤ Iraq governor dies in bomb attack ¤ Suicide blast kills Pakistan troops ¤ Exit Karl Rove, Everyone's Useful Demon The uproar over Karl Rove's resignation as George Bush's political advisor is stupendous, but in truth he was no great shakes as Svengali and his exit is of scant consequence. Though they profess joy that the nation has been freed at last from his malign supervision the Democrats have lost one of their most useful alibis. By inflating Rove into a blend of Macchiavelli and Sir Francis Walsingham, a nonpareil political manipulator, they sought to explain how they failed to stop a mediocre Texas governor and incoherent campaigner from capturing the White House in 2000 and holding onto it in 2004. ¤ A Bloody Week in Iraq ¤ Tossing Fuel on a Fire ¤ Reflections on Cuba ¤ The Dodo Never Had a Chance ¤ Death by Numbers ¤ Military commanders tell Brown to withdraw from Iraq without delay Senior military commanders have told the Government that Britain can achieve "nothing more" in south-east Iraq, and that the 5,500 British troops still deployed there should move towards withdrawal without further delay. Last month Gordon Brown said after meeting George Bush at Camp David that the decision to hand over security in Basra province - the last of the four held by the British - "will be made on the military advice of our commanders on the ground". He added: "Whatever happens, we will make a full statement to Parliament when it returns [in October]." ¤ A free-for-all over oil money in Nigeria ¤ Military commanders tell Brown to withdraw from Iraq without delay ¤ The Politics of Self-Destruction ¤ War Profiteering and Corruption ¤ Iraq, Iran & the Vanishing Context in American News It's no coincidence that the American corporate media is the wealthiest communication systems in the world, yet also one of the worst in terms of educating its citizens. Extraordinary riches require extraordinary efforts to divert public attention from extreme inequality and the democratic deficit under which Americans suffer. Despite the abundance of media sources throughout this country, Americans still endure a staggering ignorance regarding the reality of U.S. foreign policy. Horrendous media coverage no doubt accounts for much of this ongoing tragedy. While there may be more information available today than at any time in history (in light of the rise of cable news, the Internet, and other technological developments), the quality of that news leaves much to be desired. ¤ Tornado kills nine in China ¤ Wikipedia and the art of censorship Castro: US must leave Guantanamo Bay Posted: Sunday, August 19, 2007 Cuban President Fidel Castro says the US naval base in Guantanamo Bay is occupied 'illegally' and the US must hand it over to Cuba. According to international laws, the United States' occupation of Guantanamo Bay Naval Base in the southeast of Cuba is illegal and unacceptable, Fidel Castro told reporters on Friday. Castro called the base a constant center of crisis, which threatens Cuba's security. Full Article : presstv.ir Top clan elder killed as Somalia strife deepens Posted: Sunday, August 19, 2007 A top clan elder from embattled Somali Prime Minister Ali Mohamed Gedi's clan was gunned down in Mogadishu overnight Saturday, dealing a blow to a laborious month-old peace initiative. The killing -- one of the most high-profile assassinations in years in the capital -- came a day after clashes between sub-clans fighting for access to resources in central Somalia left at least 20 dead. "May Allah bless him, Moalim Harun Moalim Yusuf was one of the prominent Somali clan chiefs and he was killed by two men armed with pistols as he returned from evening prayers," a spokesman from gedi's office said. "He died instantly," Abdullahi Mohieddin Odka told AFP. Full Article : france24.com Concern Over Wider Spying Under New Law Posted: Saturday, August 18, 2007 WASHINGTON, Aug. 18 – Broad new surveillance powers approved by Congress this month could allow the Bush administration to conduct spy operations that go well beyond wiretapping to include – without court approval – certain types of physical searches on American soil and the collection of Americans' business records, Democratic Congressional officials and other experts said. Administration officials acknowledged that they had heard such concerns from Democrats in Congress recently, and that there was a continuing debate over the meaning of the legislative language. But they said the Democrats were simply raising theoretical questions based on a harsh interpretation of the legislation. Full Article : nytimes.com Marcus Garvey Finally Wins Respect at Home Posted: Saturday, August 18, 2007 KINGSTON, Aug 16 (IPS) - The gates to Marcus Garvey's Liberty Hall on King Street in downtown Kingston are imposing. Tall, red bars tower above visitors, and between the bars, black birds can be seen peering backwards at intervals. The are the backward-looking Sankofa birds, which are "an Asante symbol meaning that it is alright to go back to your past to retrieve pertinent information to assist us to move forward to the future," says Donna McFarlane, Liberty Hall director and curator. In a sense, that is what the renovated Liberty Hall is all about, a multi-media museum-library-inner city community centre where Marcus Garvey's philosophies become a tool for educating people about the past, while helping them to move forward, in much the same way that Garvey did in that same space decades before. Full Article : ipsnews.net Mugabe: When a cheer jars the West, rings farthest Posted: Saturday, August 18, 2007 The Herald Exactly as one would have ever wished it! After the historic Dar Summit held towards the end of March this year, I made it clear Southern Africa had reached a turning point, and with it, the Zimbabwean situation. I made it clear the significance of the resultant communiqué was the fact of the 14-member grouping had for the first time taken a collective stance against illegal sanctions imposed by the West, led of course by Britain and America. I made it clear that from that day on, the fight would achieve exactly what Britain had always wished, namely the internationalisation of its fight with Zimbabwe, but only in ways not so palatable to Britain and her bankrupt foreign policy. I argued that from that historic day, Britain, America and the pro-sanctions segment of the EU would have to confront Sadc as a block, itself quite an escalation in the situation. The fight would become sub-regional, indeed would pit a sub-region against its historical adversary. I suppose many thought Manheru was politicking. I know that those who mistakenly thought so are beginning to wake up to this hard-hitting fact. But grant it to the British. Correctly, they panicked, and used their man in Gaberone to express this panic. Much later, they also used their Ghanaian-turned Briton, one Boateng who is their man in South Africa, to express the same disquiet. This shameful man from the womb of so respectable a people, did not mind being foolish on behalf of the Empire. The Zim migrant peril As already indicated in previous installments, from that month of March, the British were peddling frantically, hoping a big TB (Tony Blair) bang would visit and demolish Mugabe before a change of guard at No. 10, indeed before the next Sadc Summit. They enlisted the support of the Americans, an assignment made easier by America’s man here – Dell – so gifted with a long mouth, so backed by a stub of intellect. The whole hype on illegal immigrants was meant to use the people-to-people magnitude as a subtle instrument for British foreign policy goals. Repeated claims of a Zimbabwean migrant peril, edified by a Parliamentary Committee, the white opposition Democratic Alliance and much else, would have not only nudged Mbeki out of the "slumber" of "quiet diplomacy"; it would have generated violent xenophobia which would have forced the South African government to act. Or better still, create refugee camps, in which case the Sadc Summit would have had no choice but to deal with a supposedly ever snowballing Zimbabwe situation. The connection with the price madness which should have provided the trigger both at home and abroad, is too obvious to be missed. Re-editing Dar Meanwhile the West’s captive media, especially their beachhead in South Africa, kept harping on the dim prospects of the political dialogue the Dar Summit had assigned President Mbeki to mind. Regardless of the progress on the ground, everything had to read dim, very dim, to warrant a hard-ball which Sadc was supposed to play against Zimbabwe. It is this hard-ball scenario which the daft Muleya writing on the eve of the Summit harped wild, to look very foolish a little later. Under such a scenario, Sadc did not have to do much: It only needed to acknowledge that there is a crisis in Zimbabwe, a crisis solely caused by its "mis-governors". That would have re-edited Dar. That would have also provided a pretext for intervention at a higher level, including the UN, itself the dignified plate Britain badly needs to legitimise an armed pursuit and enforcement of its interests in Zimbabwe. Needless to say all this crumbled and nothing dramatic happened, both inside and outside Zimbabwe. Pawning aid pound for politics Faced with a consuming implosion of the supposedly delivering scenario, the British and Americans grew even more desperate, and therefore more open and unguarded in their political subterfuges. They have been lobbying some governments within Sadc, hoping to turn their aid pound into a pawn for foreign policy support. They won two or three states, and staked it all on these leaders’ readiness to tackle Zimbabwe and its President. Beyond an embarrassing blip and blunder, nothing much happened. The British did much more. They generously mobilised their puppet NGOs here, all under the rubric of the so-called "social forum", to generate a din that would drown and hopefully move heads at the Summit. There was an attempt to bus "demos" from Zimbabwe, and from two other neighbouring countries, so these would mount demonstrations in Lusaka. Imperialism had mobilised its askaris, many of them literate but not conscious enough to be anything nationally helpful. These schooled lumpens, many affiliated to the NCA and external chapters of Crisis, never made it to the venue, leaving their hapless linkman already in Lusaka, quite angry and frustrated. Of course the limping MDC was deployed by both the British and Americans, led by Khupe, to perform so dismally that one within their ranks – Professor Eliphas Mukonoweshure, sorry, -weshuro - ended up breaking ranks. He traded his tattered MDC cap for a more dignified one as an academic on regional integration. Simply put, Khupe was an unremitting disaster on Zambia’s FM stations, ungainly confirming that her party brought sanctions on Zimbabwe. It was not a helpful message to a politically mature society that Zambia is. From carnival to the carnal The NGO rubble which had flown ahead, was characteristically in sixes and sevens, redirecting its frustrated political ardour into open and unmitigated debauchery: A sure sign that the billed Lusaka opposition carnival had degenerated to bare carnality. As always, their pockets are always sound for such base pursuits. They lived in mortal fear of a security crackdown that none in Lusaka had heart or reason for. Clear juvenile politics, much of it quixotic to win girlish hearts. Changing tack In the world of high politics, the British deployed their most hardened propagandists, including the usually suave Tony Hawkins. A "Zimbabwe-unmasked" media psyche had to be evoked. Not quite new; not quite news. The real news was a piece in the British Guardian by one Simon Tisdall, titled "Mbeki’s backing for Mugabe may make west change tack". The article vicariously expressed British consternation at Mbeki’s liberation rhetoric on Zimbabwe, particularly his identifying Britain as "a principal protagonist in the Zimbabwean issue. The writer then brings in the American angle by way of a right wing James Kirchick of the New Republican magazine who attacks Mbeki for playing "heir" to "anti-imperialist intellectual tradition heroically opposed to the western democracies". The gist of the article is to warn that the just-ended Sadc Summit could deepen the West’s misgivings about a radical South Africa’s role in safeguarding "wider US and western interests", presumably in Southern Africa, forcing a disenchanted West to adopt a military strategy against Harare. "A detachment of US marines could do the job on its lunch break", adds Boston Globe columnist, Jeff Jacoby, seemingly well beyond any learning from the shock and awe America is getting from post-Saddam Iraq. At another level, Michael Evans and Fred Bridgland (remember apartheid South Africa in Angola?) were busy recycling the British military evacuation plan story for 22 000 Britons who are said to be in Zimbabwe. It is a weary story, but one indexical to British propaganda designs. Paradox of impoverishing growth Lusaka has consolidated Dar es Salaam. Lusaka has thoroughly upset the British and Americans, forcing both into a Southern African foreign policy posture sure to upset and alienate Southern Africa, in the process reinforcing the already strong pro-Zimbabwe sentiment which is showing no sign of abating. And if any had any doubts, the wild cheers that President Mugabe drew in Zambia, rammed the message home, much to their utter disbelief and disappointment. It is clear the Mugabe sentiment is strong as ever, making him intractable. And of course these envoys think Mugabe is a talisman. He does not need to be. The material circumstances for deep resonance to Mugabe’s politics are both abundant and ubiquitous in Southern Africa. After all, is it not a fact that the principal paradox of Southern Africa lies in a regional economy which makes its people poorer and poorer each time it registers bigger and bigger growth? What politics does the West expect in a mining economy which attracts well over US$3bn in new investments but rewarding its citizens a mere 0.006% by way of royalties? In such a despicable environment, would a Mugabe who preaches indigenisation in the mining sector, be a reviled loner, a leper? When back is futuristic And that is the essence of Mugabe-ism in regional politics: politics validated by deepening poverty. Increasingly, the West is waking up to the fact that the politics they blamed for dragging Zimbabwe back to the stone age, are in fact a compelling peep into the future politics of Southern Africa. In the so-called Zimbabwe crisis is read the future politics of a new Southern Africa in which the West has no place. Which is what makes the Guardian reporter dead right; which is what makes British and American wiles here quite deadly. Cheering Lisbon But one more point. Sadc has re-stoked the African sentiment ahead of Portugal, itself the setting for the EU-Africa Summit. And it’s not accidental that the western envoys who expressed shock at Mugabe’s popularity are from Lisbon. They know what they will be up against should they ever buckle to British fears of the potential hazard of a Brown accidental hand-shake with the "coarse" Mugabe in a dimly lit Lisbon corner. And Lusaka is the tonic which shall get Lisbon to get EU to come to terms with their illegal sanctions against Harare, in the process heading the call of Dar. Something in me tells me we are close - very close – to a resolution. Something gotta give in, and looking at the sinewy muscles that prop the Great Zimbabwe, I have not the slightest doubt what shall! Gobbling Zanu (PF)’s reformersIs anyone getting what is reaching my ears? Strange reconfiguration of national politics is taking place, seemingly without a din. I hear Tsvangirai – which means the British – is extracting his pound of flesh. Apart from tackling Mutambara - which is not quite the same thing as tackling Welshman Ncube and his trenchantly loyal urban Ndebele vote – Tsvangirai has turned on the so-called Zanu (PF) reformers he has been courting for a broad and miscegenated anti-Mugabe front. The so-called Zanu (PF) reformers were supposed to cause a rapture from within – relying both on political dissidence and a military putsch. The former would have enabled a palace coup; the later a real one. The former would have delivered Zanu (PF) structures to a re-made MDC; the latter would have pacified and cowed a post-Mugabe Zimbabwe. Neither happened and Tsvangirai, speaking the frustration of the British and the always skeptical Americans, is now accusing these reformers of having neither the nerve nor the mob to make change happen. He is charging they wield no power enough to influence both the military and the structures of Zanu (PF). If anything, he further charges, they are actually struggling to retain influence in their little constituencies, let alone wielding the muscle to decisively project their influence at national level. Then, the bombshell. Tsvangirai is telling them that if they want anything to do with his faction, they must join it as humble individuals who hold nothing for the table. This side of intrigue which Mukonoweshuro was leading, is set to founder, and with it, his own political career. Biti should be happy, very happy I tell you! Now, Tsvangirai is expecting big egos to swallow humble pie. Ane chokwadi? Great perturbations. Watch this column. Icho! Hotel mistakes Nobel laureate for bag lady Posted: Friday, August 17, 2007 She was wearing a Mayan dress, the traditional attire of indigenous people in central America, and the hotel's response was also traditional: throw her out. Staff at Cancun's five-star Hotel Coral Beach appear to have assumed this was another street vendor or beggar, so without asking questions they ordered her to leave. Except the woman was Rigoberta Menchú, the Nobel peace prizewinner, Unesco goodwill ambassador, Guatemalan presidential candidate and figurehead for indigenous rights. The attempted eviction, an example of discrimination against indigenous people common in central and south America, backfired when other guests recognised Ms Menchú and interceded on her behalf. Full Article : guardian.co.uk BBC loses last Russian FM outlet Posted: Friday, August 17, 2007 Maria Esposito Friday August 17, 2007 MediaGuardian.co.uk The BBC World Service has lost its last FM radio outlet in Russia today, adding further substance to claims of a clampdown on foreign media by the country's authorities. Russian station Bolshoye Radio today notified the BBC World Service that it plans to stop transmission of BBC programming in Russian as of this afternoon. Bolshoye Radio was due to air BBC content at 5pm but was ordered by its owner, the financial group Finam, to pull the shows or risk being taken off air altogether. Today's decision to drop the BBC World Service, which is funded by the Foreign Office, comes a month after the UK and Russia each expelled four diplomats in a row over the assassination of London-based dissident Alexander Litvinenko. Full Article : guardian.co.uk Ayinde's comment: BBC is part of the British government so any country that has tensions with Britain has to also examine the role of BBC in their country. The Zimbabwe government did the same with respect to BBC and other Western media for a similar reason. Of course, BBC and other Western media report this as just a clampdown on foreign media by the country's authorities; an attempt to erode democratic freedoms and the rights of the people. In other words, the Western media fights tooth and nail to maintain their propaganda activities globally and they expect countries that they are engaged in disputes with to allow them unfettered access to publish biased, hostile and subversive reports. Nearly All the War Crimes Were Israel's Posted: Friday, August 17, 2007 ¤ Peru quake death toll rises to 510 ¤ Series of quakes rock Tokyo area ¤ US gambles on Iran's 'soldiers of terror' The White House's plan to designate the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) a terrorist organization could deal a double blow to efforts to use diplomacy with Iran to stabilize Iraq. Not only would the designation risk undermining the important yet limited talks between the United States and Iran in Baghdad, but it might also negatively impact the next US president's ability to seek diplomacy with Tehran by further entrenching US-Iran relations in a paradigm of enmity. ¤ US and Israel agree $30bn arms deal The US has agreed to provide Israel with $30bn in defence grants over the next decade, a 25 per cent boost aimed at countering a "resurgent" Iran and its allies. At a signing ceremony in Jerusalem on Thursday, Nicholas Burns, US undersecretary of state, said the US would help Israel to maintain a military advantage over its enemies. ¤ 9 killed, 17 wounded in Baghdad bombing ¤ Ponzi Capitalism ¤ Tool Time: Rove Goes But the Malevolent Machine Rolls On ¤ Declare War... on Italy! ¤ Feds pay $80,000 over anti-Bush T-shirts ¤ The Surge's Short Shelf Life ¤ The Cult of 9/11 ¤ Hotel mistakes Nobel laureate for bag lady ¤ The Epic Struggle of Indigenous Andean / Amazonian Cultures ¤ Rove's Science of Dirty Tricks ¤ An Inside Look at How U.S. Interrogators Destroyed the Mind of Jose Padilla ¤ A travesty of justice: Jose Padilla found guilty ¤ Iran and Great Power Politics ¤ Puppets on a String... ¤ Understanding And Misunderstanding Iraq ¤ Britain: Guantánamo detainee details years of torture A British resident, Omar Deghayes, detained at Guantánamo Bay as an alleged terrorist, reports that he has suffered years of torture, sexual abuse and death threats. Last week, Omar's family released a dossier documenting his terrible ordeal, which he dictated to a lawyer visiting the United States-run military prison. ¤ Nearly All the War Crimes Were Israel's ¤ The Convenience of Denial The man who ran CNN's news operation during the invasion of Iraq is now doing damage control in response to a new documentary's evidence that he kowtowed to the Pentagon on behalf of the cable network. His current denial says a lot about how "liberal media" outlets remain deeply embedded in the mindsets of pro-military conformity. ¤ Iraq Trauma: "children grow up, people grow old" ¤ Ahmadinejad to join Chinese, Russian leaders for regional security summit ¤ Two Legs Good, Four Legs Equal Despite the trappings of a civilized culture and the incredibly persistent myth of our moral exceptionalism, we in the United States are collectively a group of mean-spirited, depraved barbarians. Sparing our psyches the pangs of conscience by ferociously devouring the corporate media's seemingly endless supply of rationalizations, euphemisms, historical revisions, distractions, denials, distortions, and affirmations of our pathological self-absorption, we each carry a degree of responsibility in the infliction of immeasurable unnecessary pain and suffering upon the rest of the Earth's sentient beings. ¤ "An Attempt to Deceive Americans Into Yet Another War" ¤ Do the Neo-Cons Need Karl Rove When They Can Count on the Democrats? Backlash Over Book on Policy for Israel Posted: Thursday, August 16, 2007 "The Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy" is not even in bookstores, but already anxieties have surfaced about the backlash it is stirring, with several institutions backing away from holding events with the authors. John J. Mearsheimer, a political scientist at the University of Chicago, and Stephen M. Walt, a professor at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, were not totally surprised by the reaction to their work. An article last spring in the London Review of Books outlining their argument - that a powerful pro-Israel lobby has a pernicious influence on American policy - set off a firestorm as charges of anti-Semitism, shoddy scholarship and censorship ricocheted among prominent academics, writers, policymakers and advocates. In the book, published by Farrar, Straus & Giroux and embargoed until Sept. 4, they elaborate on and update their case. Full Article : commondreams.org Iran's Revolutionary Guards Scoff At US Blacklist Plan Posted: Thursday, August 16, 2007 TEHRAN - Iran's Revolutionary Guards Thursday dismissed US plans to list the elite force as a terror group in order to strangle its growing economic power, warning that its "iron will" would not be deterred. A US official revealed on Wednesday that President George W. Bush was set to issue an executive order blacklisting the group in order to block the assets of what is one of the Islamic republic's key institutions. Full Article : commondreams.org U.S. to Expand Domestic Use of Spy Satellites Posted: Wednesday, August 15, 2007 The U.S.'s top intelligence official has greatly expanded the range of federal and local authorities who can get access to information from the nation's vast network of spy satellites in the U.S. The decision, made three months ago by Director of National Intelligence Michael McConnell, places for the first time some of the U.S.'s most powerful intelligence-gathering tools at the disposal of domestic security officials. The move was authorized in a May 25 memo sent to Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff asking his department to facilitate access to the spy network on behalf of civilian agencies and law enforcement. Full Article : online.wsj.com No American President can stand up to Israel Posted: Wednesday, August 15, 2007 ¤ "No American President can stand up to Israel." The power of the Israel Lobby over American foreign policy is considerable. In March 2006, two distinguished American scholars, John Mearsheimer and Stephen Walt, expressed concern in the London Review of Books [ http://www.lrb.co.uk/v28/n06/mear01_.html ] that the power of the Israel Lobby was bending US foreign policy in directions that serve neither US nor Israeli interests. The two experts were hoping to start a debate that might rescue the US and Israel from unsuccessful policies of coercion that are intensifying Muslim hatred of Israel and America. The Israel lobby was opposed to any such reassessment, and attempted to close it off with epithets: "Jew-baiter," "anti-semitic," and even "anti-American." Today Israeli citizens who oppose Zionist plans for greater Israel are denounced as "anti-Semites." ¤ Iran winning more friends in region ¤ 500 killed in Iraq suicide bombings ¤ The American occupation army commits detaining about 750 Iraqi children ¤ Takes One to Know One The idea that the US could be considering classifying the Iranian Revolutionary Guard as a "terrorist" organization, based upon some dubious evidence that the organization is supplying some weapons-in particular those shaped charges that have been so effective in roadside bombs against US military vehicles-is pretty preposterous when you consider the source. Whatever the truth about the activities of the Iranians, certainly when it comes to terror, the US is unrivalled in the world today. ¤ FDA Approved Drug Makes You Hypersexual and a Compulsive Gambler ¤ Army suicides highest in 26 years Army soldiers committed suicide last year at the highest rate in 26 years, and more than a quarter did so while serving in Iraq and Afghanistan, according to a new military report. The report, obtained by The Associated Press ahead of its scheduled release Thursday, found there were 99 confirmed suicides among active duty soldiers during 2006, up from 88 the previous year and the highest since the 102 suicides in 1991. ¤ US 'surges', soldiers die. Blame Iran ¤ There is something terribly wrong with this country, isn't there? ¤ Our War Crimes I've always been fascinated by the concept of "administrative evil" – a term that describes how ordinary and decent people can end up committing horrific acts and oftentimes think they are doing the right thing as they commit them. I recall a concentration camp survivor who described his Nazi-saluting neighbors as regular Joes. A frighteningly large percentage of the population in communist nations served as informers. The people who spied on their neighbors and had them sent to prison camps were doing what they thought to be their patriotic duty. Here on the editorial pages, we still talk about an interview we once had with an Israeli official who described the terrorist plotters he knew as rather normal people who "were nice to their pets." ¤ Who Cares? ¤ Rove’s Science of Dirty Tricks Escalation by the Numbers Posted: Tuesday, August 14, 2007 ¤ Of Lies, History & Throwing Flowers Remember the British Raj and their Residents? Remember what they wanted to control? 1.Foreign policy – We will decide which state you will befriend and which one you will not. 2.Defense – Don’t worry about your own defense. We will defend you. You are not allowed to do anything that has the danger of making you strong as you don’t know how to use your power. Imagine; we used to call that ‘colonialism’. But obviously we were wrong. Gandhiji and all those who fought for ‘Independence’ along with him had it wrong all the time. We were not enslaved at all. What a waste of time and energy!! And on top of it Jawaharlal inflicted the non-aligned theory on us. Not that we were all that non-aligned at that time. But we did support freedom movements in Palestine and South Africa. But then we did not realize the value of friendship with Israel, did we? Today we do. After all trust an Indian to recognize a bargain. And South Africa became free conveniently on its own so today we don’t have to decide whether or not to support apartheid in yet another form. ¤ Learn from the fall of Rome, US warned ¤ Bush's Booming Economy -- For The Rich ¤ Iraq: Violence taking toll on pregnant mothers, infants ¤ In Iraq, sex is traded for survival ¤ Sectarian 'cleansing' in Baghdad ¤ Four Suicide Bombings Kill 175 in Iraq ¤ Bush Warns Puppets Not to Praise Iran ¤ Ahmadinejad's first Afghan visit ruffles US feathers ¤ 22 dead as Chinese bridge collapses ¤ Tuesday: 247 Iraqis Killed, 6 GIs; 260 Iraqis Wounded ¤ Escalation by the Numbers ¤ Do US, Iraqi Officials Undercount Detainees? ¤ The Useful Fools of Empire Most inhabitants of Western countries are afflicted by nefarious delusions about the nature of their societies and government policy; the public at large is led to believe that their societies are superior, and their governments' policies are noble and generous. The illusions have to do with the dissonance between the fabricated image and the reality of state power, especially when it entails wars waged against third world countries. Awful wars are waged for crass motives, yet they are sold on the basis that they are driven by benevolent intent. Promotion of democracy, freedoms, human rights, women's rights, and even religious tolerance are some of the purported motives for current interventions, subversion or wars. ¤ Pesticides in the Plantations ¤ What Is Karl Rove Hiding? ¤ Stealing A President's Spotlight The U.S. Normalization of Mass Murder Posted: Monday, August 13, 2007 ¤ Obstructing the War on Iran ¤ The U.S. Normalization of Mass Murder Given the nation's tottering infrastructure, imperial overreach abroad and vandalized constitutional process by a lawless executive branch, what will it take to scare the general public, mainstream press and political classes into immediate action to bring about meaningful change? At this twilight hour of the American republic, there must come a paradigm shift of seismic proportions or else the republic will perish. I'm less than optimistic. Insomuch as, I suspect, that if, during a rare press conference, George W. Bush's face were to suddenly shed its skin, right on camera, live on national television, on all channels, broadcast and cable, to reveal the countenance of a Gila Monster -- the elitist beltway punditry would begin to catalog the merits of his reptilian single-mindedness. Then proceed to an interview with an "expert" from a right-wing funded, zoological think tank, "The American Institute for the Advancement of Predatory Policy," who would assure us that: "...in an era when evil is as proliferate as flies around the stinking dumpster of the world, Americans will be kept safe by a lizard-faced leader who eats flies for breakfast." And the general public would only be concerned because the broadcast happened to preempt the finals of American Idol. ¤ An Occupation of Iraq is Not Ours to Choose ¤ Ethiopia accused of using white phosphorus bombs in US-backed occupation of Somalia ¤ NKorea: Hundreds dead, missing in rain ¤ Military Families Live in Dread ¤ Exit, Karl Rove, Stage Right ¤ Who Cares? The most important issue facing America is not even being debated by the presidential candidates. With the exception of Ron Paul, all of the candidates are acting on the assumption that America's interventionist foreign policy should continue. They only differ on the details of the intervention. Since Dr. Paul doesn't have a chance of winning, I can therefore guarantee you that regardless of who wins the nominations and regardless of who ends up in the White House, you will be saddled with same failed interventionist policy. As in the past, it will preclude peace and result in conflicts that ultimately will bring America down. We can squander blood and treasure only so long before we collapse. Then we will join the heap of has-been empires like the British, French, Dutch and Soviets. ¤ The Language of Dominion ¤ First Pullout, Then Bloodbath ¤ The Hidden Agenda Behind Bush's Biofuel Plan ¤ Politics Unmercifully Trespass Humanitarian Borders in Gaza ¤ US tumbles down the world ratings list for life expectancy ¤ South Africa blames UK for Zimbabwe crisis ¤ Karl Rove to leave the White House ¤ Dick Cheney '94: Invading Baghdad Would Create Quagmire ¤ Chavez deepens Petrocaribe oil pledges Zimbabwe: Never betray our heroes Posted: Monday, August 13, 2007 The Herald Today is Heroes' Day – a special day set aside to commemorate Zimbabwe's gallant freedom fighters – both dead and alive whose sacrifices brought us independence, which we must continue to guard jealously. This is indeed an occasion to recall our heroes' selfless deeds that brought about a new system, which recognised the rights of the majority and gave way to a fair re-distribution of the country's resources. The history of the struggle for the liberation of this country against colonial white settlers dates back to the 1890s. White colonial settlers under Rhodes invaded this country and defeated freedom fighters of the First Chimurenga. They send to the gallows Mbuya Nehanda, Sekuru Kaguvi and many others. This gave them a false and dangerous belief, which allowed them to create a set of values that recognised and justified white supremacy, laying hands on the enormous wealth the country possessed. And the majority black people were relegated to second class citizens in their country of birth, being subjected to semi-slavery and condemned to live on barren land. But it was only a question of time before the tables were turned against the colonial settlers when the Second Chimurenga was launched, which thus brought to an end white minority rule. To the majority of us, those who gallantly fought the white settlers for the freedom from diverse forms of colonial bondage will forever be remembered as Zimbabwe's heroes and heroines. Tens of thousands died. Some of them lie at the national Heroes Acre, district and provincial heroes acres, while the bodies of many others lie in scattered and mass graves, down mine shafts across Zimbabwe and in neighbouring countries. But sadly, many of the final resting places of the dead of our liberation war will never be known. Likewise, the colonial settlers who fought to maintain and perpetuate minority privileges will forever remain villains. Today, we remember our liberation war heroes against the background of sinister moves and efforts aimed towards the restoration of the old order. This is happening with the overt support of the former colonial masters who are doing everything to condemn the heroes and the revolution of the Second Chimurenga that brought us our much-cherished independence. Currently, we have organisations and movements that are trying to redefine the objectives of the liberation struggle and produce substitute heroes and heroines. But the heroes and heroines of Zimbabwe's liberation struggle are irreplaceable and will remain as such. We will never betray our heroes and we must not forget them. Independent Zimbabwe should live forever and the colonial past must never be allowed to come back under any guise. Not even a black skin. Zimbabwe: BBC lies exposed Posted: Monday, August 13, 2007 EDITOR – The article by Stephen T. Maimbodei (The Herald, August 8 2007) made interesting reading particularly as we celebrate our Heroes Holiday. As Zimbabweans we should not fail to sleep over the programme because there are so many of them these days from CNN, BBC and other radio and TV stations. Zimbabwe is a great country that is why we had to fight for it to liberate ourselves. Ian Smith rebelled against Her Majesty, the Queen of England, and nothing happened and just like what happened in the film "Hotel Rwanda" they said: "We have been sent to collect whites only", the British government did not act against their kith and kin. Our greatest "sin" was to take land from their kith and kin and they will not forgive us for that. Ko vanombodei muZimbabwe? There are a lot of countries where things are happening and the world is doing nothing and in our beloved Zimbabwe sanctions have been the source of our challenges. The playing field is not even and is openly and deliberately violated by those sponsoring regime change. The BBC programme is nothing but racist bigotry bent on trivialising the war of liberation and the living liberation war heroes. For decades the history of a black person has been that of subservience, abused and humiliation. He has been denied his rightful place. He must always say baas to "superhuman" beings. Maybe the BBC should do a special programme on how they toppled Kwame Nkrumah, and how they threw Patrice Lumumba into sulphuric acid. Did Tom Mboya of Kenya have to be assassinated if the British are so democratic as they claim to be? What about the fraud they committed against King Lobengula? The BBC and their government wanted the black man to have remained confined to the "mukwenyashuro" type of soil in Chivi, Mberengwa, Gutu and other rural areas. This is why economic rights have been relegated to the dustbin by the white man. The black man is made to believe that civil and political rights are more important than economic rights and the end result is perpetuation of poverty. What the programme is meant to achieve will certainly not perturb us. We know we are under sanctions and we know they imposed them on our country and our sin was taking what rightly belongs to us. God gave us Zimbabwe to enjoy its fruits not to be treated like second-class citizens. The kith and kin of the British owe it to President Mugabe for his generous commitment to reconciliation. When Father Zimbabwe, Dr Joshua Nkomo said: "Nxa ufuna imali pendulela ivala elithi lima uzayithola imali", he simply meant that money comes from the soil. To my brothers and sisters the fastest way to get rich is to work hard in the fields. Just like the Israelis and Palestinians have the right to their land, Zimbabweans are no exception. The late Stanlake Samkange wrote the book "On Trial for My Country", indeed our President is on trial for giving land to his people. The BBC lies have been exposed and they will continue to be exposed. The Bible says the truth shall set you free. C. Zhou. Gweru. Oil and occupation Posted: Sunday, August 12, 2007 ¤ Countering The Big Lies Syndicated columnist Georgie Anne Geyer's most recent article (Promoting Dangerous Divisions in Middle East) is the same old re-hashing of opinions of what is happening in Iraq. It is dull and laden with self-praise for her superior intuition about events in the Middle East. Among all her tired opinions, one statement stuck out like a black person at a Ku Klux Klan rally. Geyer wrote about being in Saudi Arabia in the fall of 1990, just across the border from occupied Kuwait: She reminisced: "What was happening with Iraqi troops all over the place? We found out soon enough. It was horror on a mass scale: piles of women's breasts were found in bags ..." I thought I had heard all the lies about the Iraqi regime, but this one is new. ¤ Is bin Laden Responsible for the 9/11 attacks? ¤ Just Another Vacation From Reality ¤ Oil and occupation The US administration feigned outrage when former US president Jimmy Carter said on 2 February 2007 that some people in Washington wanted US troops to stay in Iraq for 10 years, if not more. The US invaded Iraq in order to secure a permanent military base in the Middle East, the former president argued. Time has proved him right. A White House spokesman recently admitted that the US was planning a long-term military presence in Iraq: the ongoing war, as well as the war on terror, would, he said, last a long time. Washington was less ambiguous about its goals when it first attacked Iraq. Then US officials went on record to say the fight against international terror could last for 10 years, involve nearly 40 countries and 60 political movements. Washington also claimed that it wanted to destroy weapons of mass destruction, free Iraqis from dictatorship, and create a lasting democracy in Iraq. ¤ The Joyride That Was The American Empire ¤ A New Cold War Over Oil In February, George W. Bush announced the creation of a new unified combatant command for Africa. After several years of deliberation, the Pentagon finally agreed to create the African Command (AFRICOM), which will relieve the European Command (EUCOM) and the Central Command (CENTCOM), which earlier shared responsibility for Africa. In July, Bush appointed General William "Kip" Ward to run AFRICOM, which will be based in Germany until it finds an African home (Liberia, home to an Omega surveillance system from 1976 to 1997, is openly lobbying to play host). Sensitive to criticism that AFRICOM seeks military solutions to African problems, the U.S. Assistant Secretary of Defense for African Affairs, Theresa Whelan, said, "Africa Command is not going to reflect a U.S. intent to engage kinetically in Africa. This is about prevention. This isn't about fighting wars." ¤ Sudan, Oil, and the Darfur Crisis ¤ Faith in UN Intervention in Darfur Misplaced ¤ Permit Sharon a Comatose Smile… You don't hear much about Ariel Sharon, these days, quietly passing his days on a life-support machine with no indication of when or how his coma will end. But were Sharon capable of comprehending and appreciating his legacy, right now he'd be laughing his head off. When everyone else was talking of peace with the Palestinian leadership, Sharon was doing his best to sabotage it, arguing instead that Israel needed to come to mutually beneficial arrangements with Palestinian warlords in discreet fiefdoms. And the source of his delight, today, would be the willingness of Mahmoud Abbas to accept the role of Marshal Petain in a Palestinian Vichy regime. Today, Abbas dines in Jericho with the leader of the occupation, while personally insisting on the maintenance of a blockade on Gaza to starve its people (his people) into rejecting Hamas. ¤ The Mercenary Revolution If you think the U.S. has only 160,000 troops in Iraq, think again. With almost no congressional oversight and even less public awareness, the Bush administration has more than doubled the size of the U.S. occupation through the use of private war companies. There are now almost 200,000 private "contractors" deployed in Iraq by Washington. This means that U.S. military forces in Iraq are now outsized by a coalition of billing corporations whose actions go largely unmonitored and whose crimes are virtually unpunished. ¤ US and French Oil Conglomerates Share the Spoils of War Editor's Note What this agreement suggests is that US oil interests are sharing the spoils of war with Europe's largest oil giant, the Franco-Belgian oil conglomerate Total. This rapprochement between Chevron and Total is consistent with the shift in French politics. President Nicolas Sarkozy is broadly representative of the interests of the Franco-Belgian conglomerate. The current situation is in overt contrast to that prevailing prior to the invasion of Iraq, characterised by the conflict in the United Nations Security Council between the US and Britain on the one hand and France (backed by Germany) on the other. The building of a US-French consensus on Iraq (e.g. between Sarkozy and Bush) is largely the result of the willingness of US oil interests to share the spoils with their European counterparts in exchange for their political and military backing of Washington's foreign policy in the Middle East. Michel Chossudovsky, Global Research, 9 August 2007 ¤ BAE profits soar on Iraq conflict Work to re-equip UK and US troops in Iraq and Afghanistan has helped profits to soar at defence group BAE Systems. The UK's largest defence firm, BAE made a pre-tax profit of 657m pounds sterling ($1.4bn), compared with 378m pounds sterling a year earlier. BAE said the "high tempo" of UK and US military operations was increasing demand for land systems to support armed forces overseas. ¤ Well-Off Fleeing Iraq Find Poverty and Pain in Jordan ¤ The Fog of Fame: Part Two How Pat Tillman Died ¤ Myths of Mideast Arms Sales Flashback ¤ No End in Sight ¤ U.S. backs Maliki, avoids talk of Iraq government collapse ¤ Oh well. At least losing all those AK-47s builds a market ¤ Separation of oil and state On several occasions I've been presented with the argument that contrary to widespread opinion in the anti-war movement and on the left, oil was not really a factor in the the United States invasion and occupation of Iraq. The argument's key, perhaps sole, point is that the oil companies did not push for the war. Responding to only this particular point: firstly, the executives of multinational corporations are not in the habit of making public statements concerning vital issues of American foreign policy, either for or against. And we don't know what the oil company executives said in private to high Washington officials, although we do know that such executives have a lot more access to such officials than you or I, like at Cheney's secret gatherings. More importantly, we have to distinguish between oil as a fuel and oil as a political weapon. ¤ How the Democrats Blew It in Only 8 Months ¤ Fighting the Democrats' Complicity with Bush Despite the massive, overwhelming repudiation of the Iraq war and the Bush Jr. administration by the American people in the November 2006 national elections conjoined with their consequent installation of a Congress controlled by the Democratic Party with a mandate to terminate the Iraq war, since its ascent to power in January 2007 the Democrats in Congress have taken no effective steps to stop, impede, or thwart the Bush Jr. administration's wars of aggression against Iraq, Afghanistan, Somalia, or anywhere else, including their long-standing threatened war against Iran. To the contrary, the new Democrat-controlled Congress decisively facilitated these serial Nuremberg crimes against peace on May 24, 2007 by enacting a $95 billion supplemental appropriation to fund war operations through September 30, 2007 ¤ Nearly half US murder victims are black: report ¤ It's Official: Sheehan runs against Pelosi! ¤ Visible Secrets ¤ Fatigue cripples US army in Iraq ¤ The Cracks in Saddam's Dam ¤ Tucker Carlson and his Whitewashed Panel Discussing "Blackness" ¤ A New Tactical Twist in the Coming War on Iran Bush, Congress Could Collide On Iran Posted: Saturday, August 11, 2007 WASHINGTON -- Taking military action against Iran could put President Bush on a collision course with Congress, leading Democrats and a Republican lawmaker cautioned Friday following Bush’s threat of unspecified consequences for alleged Iranian meddling in Iraq. It’s been the consensus for months among the Democrats who hold the majority that Bush must get congressional authorization before any military strike. But the authorization would be no easy sell. Two knowledgeable U.S. officials, speaking on the condition of anonymity because intelligence on Iran is highly classified, said that the administration so far doesn’t have "smoking-gun" evidence that could be used publicly to justify an air attack. Full Article : commondreams.org It's Official: Sheehan runs against Pelosi! Posted: Saturday, August 11, 2007 US peace activist Cindy Sheehan, famous for her criticism of the Bush administration, is now running for Democrat House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's seat in Congress. Sheehan, who lost her son Casey in the Iraq war in 2005, officially announced her plan to run against the San Francisco Democrat in 2008 on Thursday, in order to represent her fellow citizens of California. Full Article : wakeupfromyourslumber.com Chinese Launch High-Tech Plan to Track People Posted: Saturday, August 11, 2007 By Keith Bradsher SHENZHEN, China, Aug. 9 — At least 20,000 police surveillance cameras are being installed along streets here in southern China and will soon be guided by sophisticated computer software from an American-financed company to recognize automatically the faces of police suspects and detect unusual activity. Starting this month in a port neighborhood and then spreading across Shenzhen, a city of 12.4 million people, residency cards fitted with powerful computer chips programmed by the same company will be issued to most citizens. Data on the chip will include not just the citizen's name and address but also work history, educational background, religion, ethnicity, police record, medical insurance status and landlord's phone number. Even personal reproductive history will be included, for enforcement of China's controversial "one child" policy. Plans are being studied to add credit histories, subway travel payments and small purchases charged to the card. Full Article : nytimes.com US doles out millions for street cameras By Charlie Savage, Globe Staff | August 12, 2007 WASHINGTON -- The Department of Homeland Security is funneling millions of dollars to local governments nationwide for purchasing high-tech video camera networks, accelerating the rise of a "surveillance society" in which the sense of freedom that stems from being anonymous in public will be lost, privacy rights advocates warn. Cheney Urging Strikes On Iran Posted: Friday, August 10, 2007 WASHINGTON - President Bush charged Thursday that Iran continues to arm and train insurgents who are killing U.S. soldiers in Iraq, and he threatened action if that continues. At a news conference Thursday, Bush said Iran had been warned of unspecified consequences if it continued its alleged support for anti-American forces in Iraq. U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Ryan Crocker had conveyed the warning in meetings with his Iranian counterpart in Baghdad, the president said. Full Article : commondreams.org Squalid End to Empire: British Retreat from Africa Posted: Friday, August 10, 2007 ¤ Squalid End to Empire: British Retreat from Africa Colonial history, seen from the side of the colonists, can be summarised as follows: I came, I saw, I conquered. Then I lied about it. The BBC radio 4 website has a story called Rigging Nigeria. I have not actually listened to the documentary, but I was intrigued, as you might imagine, by the title. The website claims that the British rigged the elections in Nigeria in 1960 to counter the threat of communism. You will have heard the recent outcry about the Nigerian elections and how deeply flawed they allegedly were. I decided to do a bit of digging, and came up with a mother lode of corroboration of this tale of British duplicity in dealing with its colony. All things are revealed in the fullness of time, in spite of official secret acts, hundred-y |